Sighting in (reg) Occitanie, October 10, 1991
France
Sighting on October 10, 1991 in (reg) Occitanie (France). According to GEIPAN, it was most probably the atmospheric re-entry of a space object (rocket stage, debris) (class B).
What happened
At around 9:30 p.m., a very large number of witnesses spread across all the departments of south-west France saw an intensely bright white light cross the sky at great speed for a few seconds. It left a long trail behind it, and most witnesses described it as moving from north to south. Some also heard a loud explosion while it was happening.
An article in the local newspaper prompted many of the witnesses to come forward. According to GEIPAN, the characteristics of the sighting point to a large-scale atmospheric re-entry, probably of natural origin given the direction in which it travelled. The case was classified B (probably identified).
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- October 10, 1991
- Location
- (reg) Occitanie · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- B
- Explanation
- Re-entries
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 1991-10-01248
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.